Last updated on February 11th, 2024 at 11:04 pm
General Conference Applied
S2 E18 – Sunday, February 4, 2024 | “For the Sake of Your Posterity” by Elder Carlos A. Godoy; October 2023 General Conference
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Corresponding Talk Outline: “For the Sake of Your Posterity“
Podcast Episode Outline
REMEMBER THIS
If you remember nothing else from this podcast episode, remember this:
- Elder Godoy has invited us to begin with the end in mind.
Introduction
Doctrines, Principles, and Christlike Attributes
As we have discussed in previous episodes of General Conference Applied, it is important to identify the fundamental doctrine, principle, and Christlike attribute of each General Conference address. In “For the Sake of Your Posterity,” I identified Covenants as the fundamental doctrine, The Family Can Be Eternal as the fundamental principle, and Obedience as the fundamental Christlike attribute. I have included a detailed breakdown of this doctrine, principle, and Christlike attribute in the talk outline, but I will share additional insights during this podcast episode.
In each episode of General Conference Applied, we are attempting to answer two questions:
- What is the speaker inviting me to do?
- How might I consider taking action?
What is the speaker inviting me to do?
Invitations
1: “From the bottom of my heart, I invite you to think about it, to look ahead and evaluate ‘where this will lead,’ and, if necessary, to be valiant enough to reshape your path for the sake of your posterity.”
- What This Means (in 6 words or less): Begin with the end in mind.
Overview
Bio
“Elder Carlos A. Godoy was sustained as a General Authority Seventy of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints on April 5, 2008. At the time of his call, he had been serving as a member of the Seventh Quorum of the Seventy in the Brazil Area. He has served as a counselor in the South America West, Brazil, and South America Northwest Area Presidencies and as President of the South America Northwest Area. Elder Godoy was named a member of the Presidency of the Seventy on March 31, 2018. He currently has supervisory responsibilities working with three different members of the Twelve for the Brazil, South America South, and Utah Areas.
“Since joining the Church in 1977, Elder Godoy has served in numerous Church callings, including full-time missionary in the Brazil São Paulo South Mission, elders quorum president, missionary training center branch president, bishop, high councilor, president of the Brazil Belém Mission (1997–2000), and Area Seventy.
“Elder Godoy received a bachelor’s degree in economics and political science from Pontifícia Universidade Católica in 1987. In 1994 he received a master’s degree in organizational behavior from Brigham Young University. He worked in senior management positions at Johnson & Johnson, United Technologies–Otis Brazil Elevator, and Dow Corning South America. He then became a member of the board of directors for ZF Sachs in South America. In 2004 he started his own consulting company, CHANGE Consult–Organizational Development, specializing in organizational changes and restructuring. Simultaneously, he became an adjunct professor for many graduate schools on the topics of organizational change and change management.
“Carlos Augusto Godoy was born in Porto Alegre, Brazil, on February 4, 1961. (It just so happens that Elder Godoy’s 63rd birthday is the day on which this podcast episode is being released!) He married Mônica Soares Brandao on March 31, 1984. They are the parents of four children.”
‘I Am a Child of God’
“We then talked about the time he and his family were active members of the Church. He had fond memories of sweet family home evening moments and some Primary songs. He then softly sang a few words of ‘I Am a Child of God.'”
- A couple of months ago I served as the accompanist at our neighbor’s baptism. While playing ‘I Am a Child of God’ during the prelude music, a young 9-year-old boy began singing the words softly. Every minute of practicing and sharing my talent over many years was worth those few short minutes of softly playing that beloved song in that simple setting.
‘Where Will This Lead?’
“President Dallin H. Oaks taught us:
“‘The restored gospel of Jesus Christ encourages us to think about the future. … It teaches great ideas about the future to guide our actions today.
“‘In contrast, we all know persons who are concerned only with the present: spend it today, enjoy it today, and take no thought for the future.
“‘… As we make current decisions, we should always be asking, ‘Where will this lead?” (“Where Will This Lead?“) Will our current decisions lead us to joy now and in eternity, or will they lead us to sorrow and tears?”
- Church News Podcast Episode 67: Sister Nelson on being an eyewitness to President Nelson’s four years as Prophet, January 25, 2022
- “He’s [President Russell M. Nelson’s] always looking to the future. I think I’ve told you of an experience of returning from a really important history-making trip. We arrived home about 3 a.m. Of course, the first thing we did was to kneel and thank the Lord for the once-in-a-lifetime experiences he had provided for us. My husband was voice for our prayer, and he was very thorough in enumerating the various experiences we’d had and thanking the Lord for them. As I listened, I had such vivid images of all that transpired. Miracles, really, and I was looking forward to reviewing those experiences in my mind and with my husband, over and over again. So, I was jolted when he continued his prayer with these words: ‘And please help us put those experiences in our memory bins,’ ‘What?’ ‘So we can move forward, and do what thou needs us to do.’ My husband is always looking forward. I think of the day, it was only a day after general conference one year, when someone thanked him for his message and really for the entire conference. He turned to me after they walked away and said, ‘That’s ancient history.’ So, while the rest of us are learning from and reviewing recent words of President Nelson from a recent general conference, he’s always and already on to the next topic. He just has to be. There are so many projects that are on the move, and so much that needs to be done, and that the Lord needs him to do.
“Here’s something different that I’ve noticed about his future orientation lately. He now looks 50 to 100 years ahead. That’s new to me. One day he recently said to me, ‘Oh, I wish I could tell you one of the decisions we made today, it will be thrilling.’ I said, ‘Well, when will I know?’ ‘Oh, you’ll know in about 50 years.’ Great. Can’t wait. So, he is always looking forward.” - When people leave the Church, I’ve heard of examples of those who fill the void with addictions – alcohol and coffee in particular. Leaving the Church doesn’t mean you have to become addicted to something.
- “He’s [President Russell M. Nelson’s] always looking to the future. I think I’ve told you of an experience of returning from a really important history-making trip. We arrived home about 3 a.m. Of course, the first thing we did was to kneel and thank the Lord for the once-in-a-lifetime experiences he had provided for us. My husband was voice for our prayer, and he was very thorough in enumerating the various experiences we’d had and thanking the Lord for them. As I listened, I had such vivid images of all that transpired. Miracles, really, and I was looking forward to reviewing those experiences in my mind and with my husband, over and over again. So, I was jolted when he continued his prayer with these words: ‘And please help us put those experiences in our memory bins,’ ‘What?’ ‘So we can move forward, and do what thou needs us to do.’ My husband is always looking forward. I think of the day, it was only a day after general conference one year, when someone thanked him for his message and really for the entire conference. He turned to me after they walked away and said, ‘That’s ancient history.’ So, while the rest of us are learning from and reviewing recent words of President Nelson from a recent general conference, he’s always and already on to the next topic. He just has to be. There are so many projects that are on the move, and so much that needs to be done, and that the Lord needs him to do.
‘Lukewarm’ Membership
“Some may think, ‘We don’t need to attend church every Sunday,’ or ‘We will pay tithing when things get better,’ or ‘I will not support the Church leaders in this subject.’
“‘But,’ they say, ‘we know the Church is true, and we will never leave the gospel of Jesus Christ.’
“Those with thoughts like these do not realize the negative impact this ‘lukewarm’ type of membership will have on their lives and on the lives of their posterity. The parents may remain active, but the risk of losing their children is high—in this life and in eternity.
“Regarding those who will not inherit celestial glory with their families, the Lord says, ‘These are they who are not valiant in the testimony of Jesus; wherefore, they obtain not the crown over the kingdom of our God.’ (Doctrine and Covenants 76:79) Is that what we want for ourselves or our children? Shouldn’t we be more valiant and less lukewarm for our own sake and for the sake of our posterity?”
- The Family Can Be Eternal (Gospel Principle): “Fathers and mothers are responsible to teach their children about Heavenly Father. They should show by example that they love Him because they keep His commandments. Parents should also teach their children to pray and to obey the commandments (see Proverbs 22:6).”
- “A Prayer for the Children“, April 2003 General Conference, President Jeffrey R. Holland
- “I think some parents may not understand that even when they feel secure in their own minds regarding matters of personal testimony, they can nevertheless make that faith too difficult for their children to detect. We can be reasonably active, meeting-going Latter-day Saints, but if we do not live lives of gospel integrity and convey to our children powerful heartfelt convictions regarding the truthfulness of the Restoration and the divine guidance of the Church from the First Vision to this very hour, then those children may, to our regret but not surprise, turn out not to be visibly active, meeting-going Latter-day Saints or sometimes anything close to it.
“Not long ago Sister Holland and I met a fine young man who came in contact with us after he had been roaming around through the occult and sorting through a variety of Eastern religions, all in an attempt to find religious faith. His father, he admitted, believed in nothing whatsoever. But his grandfather, he said, was actually a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. ‘But he didn’t do much with it,’ the young man said. ‘He was always pretty cynical about the Church.’ From a grandfather who is cynical to a son who is agnostic to a grandson who is now looking desperately for what God had already once given his family! What a classic example of the warning Elder Richard L. Evans once gave.
“Said he: ‘Sometimes some parents mistakenly feel that they can relax a little as to conduct and conformity or take perhaps a so called liberal view of basic and fundamental things—thinking that a little laxness or indulgence won’t matter—or they may fail to teach or to attend Church, or may voice critical views. Some parents … seem to feel that they can ease up a little on the fundamentals without affecting their family or their family’s future. But,’ he observed, ‘if a parent goes a little off course, the children are likely to exceed the parent’s example.’ …
“Nephi-like, might we ask ourselves what our children know? From us? Personally? Do our children know that we love the scriptures? Do they see us reading them and marking them and clinging to them in daily life? Have our children ever unexpectedly opened a closed door and found us on our knees in prayer? Have they heard us not only pray with them but also pray for them out of nothing more than sheer parental love? Do our children know we believe in fasting as something more than an obligatory first-Sunday-of-the-month hardship? Do they know that we have fasted for them and for their future on days about which they knew nothing? Do they know we love being in the temple, not least because it provides a bond to them that neither death nor the legions of hell can break? Do they know we love and sustain local and general leaders, imperfect as they are, for their willingness to accept callings they did not seek in order to preserve a standard of righteousness they did not create? Do those children know that we love God with all our heart and that we long to see the face—and fall at the feet—of His Only Begotten Son? I pray that they know this.”
- “I think some parents may not understand that even when they feel secure in their own minds regarding matters of personal testimony, they can nevertheless make that faith too difficult for their children to detect. We can be reasonably active, meeting-going Latter-day Saints, but if we do not live lives of gospel integrity and convey to our children powerful heartfelt convictions regarding the truthfulness of the Restoration and the divine guidance of the Church from the First Vision to this very hour, then those children may, to our regret but not surprise, turn out not to be visibly active, meeting-going Latter-day Saints or sometimes anything close to it.
Connection
“For the Sake of Your Posterity” is Elder Godoy’s fourth General Conference address. His first address, entitled “Testimony as a Process,” was delivered during the October 2008 General Conference, which was my first General Conference in Brazil. In his second General Conference address (“The Lord Has a Plan for Us!”, October 2014 General Conference), Elder Godoy was able to deliver the address from the pulpit in Portuguese.
How might I consider taking action?
Invitations
1: “From the bottom of my heart, I invite you to think about it, to look ahead and evaluate ‘where this will lead,’ and, if necessary, to be valiant enough to reshape your path for the sake of your posterity.”
- What This Means (in 6 words or less): Begin with the end in mind.
- “The Ministry of Reconciliation“, October 2018 General Conference, President Jeffrey R. Holland
- “Grant Morrell Bowen was a hardworking, devoted husband and father who, like many who made their living on the land, had an economic downturn when the local potato crop was poor. He and his wife, Norma, took other employment, eventually moved to another city, and started their climb back to economic stability. However, in a terribly unfortunate incident, Brother Bowen was deeply hurt when, in a temple recommend interview, the bishop was a little skeptical regarding Morrell’s declaration that he was a full-tithe payer.
“I don’t know which of these men had the more accurate facts that day, but I do know Sister Bowen walked out of that interview with her temple recommend renewed, while Brother Bowen walked out with an anger that would take him away from the Church for 15 years.
“Regardless of who was right about the tithing, evidently both Morrell and the bishop forgot the Savior’s injunction to ‘agree with thine adversary quickly’ and Paul’s counsel to ‘let not the sun go down upon your wrath.’ The fact is they didn’t agree and the sun did go down on Brother Bowen’s wrath for days, then weeks, then years, proving the point made by one of the wisest of the ancient Romans, who said, ‘Anger, if not restrained, is frequently more [destructive] than the injury that provokes it.’ But the miracle of reconciliation is always available to us, and out of love for his family and the Church he knew to be true, Morrell Bowen came back into full Church activity. Let me tell you briefly how that happened.
“Brother Bowen’s son Brad is a good friend of ours and a devoted Area Seventy serving in southern Idaho. Brad was 11 years old at the time of this incident, and for 15 years he watched his father’s religious devotion decline, a witness to the terrible harvest being reaped where anger and misunderstanding had been sown. Something needed to be done. So as the Thanksgiving holiday approached in 1977, Brad, a 26-year-old student at Brigham Young University; his wife, Valerie; and new baby son, Mic, loaded into their student version of an automobile and, bad weather notwithstanding, drove to Billings, Montana. Not even a crash into a snowbank near West Yellowstone could keep this threesome from making their ministering contact with Brother Bowen Sr.
“Upon arrival, Brad and his sister Pam asked for a private moment with their father. ‘You have been a wonderful dad,’ Brad began with some emotion, ‘and we have always known how much you loved us. But something is wrong, and it has been for a long time. Because you were hurt once, this whole family has been hurting for years. We are broken, and you are the only one who can fix us. Please, please, after all this time, can you find it in your heart to lay aside that unfortunate incident with that bishop and again lead this family in the gospel as you once did?’
“There was dead silence. Then Brother Bowen looked up at these two, his children, bone of his bone and flesh of his flesh, and said very quietly, ‘Yes. Yes, I will.’
“Thrilled but stunned by the unexpected answer, Brad Bowen and his family watched their husband and father go to his current bishop in a spirit of reconciliation to set things right in his life. In a perfect response to this courageous but totally unexpected visit, the bishop, who had extended repeated invitations to Brother Bowen to come back, threw his arms around Morrell and just held him—held him in a long, long, long embrace.
“In a matter of only a few weeks—doesn’t take long—Brother Bowen was fully engaged in Church activity and had made himself worthy to return to the temple. Soon enough he accepted the call to preside over a struggling little branch of 25 and grew it into a thriving congregation of well over 100. All of this took place nearly half a century ago, but the consequence of a son and a daughter’s ministering plea to their own father and that father’s willingness to forgive and move forward in spite of the imperfections of others has brought blessings that are still coming—and will come forever—to the Bowen family.”
- “Grant Morrell Bowen was a hardworking, devoted husband and father who, like many who made their living on the land, had an economic downturn when the local potato crop was poor. He and his wife, Norma, took other employment, eventually moved to another city, and started their climb back to economic stability. However, in a terribly unfortunate incident, Brother Bowen was deeply hurt when, in a temple recommend interview, the bishop was a little skeptical regarding Morrell’s declaration that he was a full-tithe payer.
Directives (“an official or authoritative instruction”)
- “Please consider this invitation from President Russell M. Nelson: ‘Now, if you have stepped off the path, may I invite you with all the hope in my heart to please come back. Whatever your concerns, whatever your challenges, there is a place for you in this, the Lord’s Church. You and generations yet unborn will be blessed by your actions now to return to the covenant path.‘”
- Immediately preceding this invitation, President Nelson had stated: “As a new Presidency, we want to begin with the end in mind. For this reason, we’re speaking to you today from a temple. The end for which each of us strives is to be endowed with power in a house of the Lord, sealed as families, faithful to covenants made in a temple that qualify us for the greatest gift of God—that of eternal life. The ordinances of the temple and the covenants you make there are key to strengthening your life, your marriage and family, and your ability to resist the attacks of the adversary. Your worship in the temple and your service there for your ancestors will bless you with increased personal revelation and peace and will fortify your commitment to stay on the covenant path.”
- Covenants (Gospel Doctrine): “All saving ordinances of the priesthood are accompanied by covenants. A covenant is a sacred agreement between God and man. God gives the conditions for the covenant, and we agree to do what He asks us to do. God then promises us certain blessings for our obedience. The sacrament allows us to renew the covenants we have made with the Lord.” If it’s been a while since you partook of the sacrament, consider returning to Church and partaking of the sacrament this Sunday.
- “If you are going through one of these two situations I mentioned in my message, please reconsider your course of action. You know there is a plan for us in this life. You know that families can be eternal. Why put yours at risk? Don’t be the weak link in this beautiful chain of faith you started, or you received, as a legacy. Be the strong one. It is your turn to do it, and the Lord can help you.”
- “Why am I sharing this experience with you? I am sharing it for two purposes.
“First, to address those good members who for some reason have fallen away from the restored gospel of Jesus Christ. Second, to also address those participating members today who maybe are not being as faithful to their covenants as they should be. In both cases, generations ahead of them are impacted, and blessings and promises that were reserved for their posterities are at risk.” - Consider studying President Dallin H. Oaks’s April 2019 General Conference address “Where Will This Lead?” and taking action on promptings from the Holy Ghost.
- “Why am I sharing this experience with you? I am sharing it for two purposes.
Other Ideas
- “The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People: Powerful Lessons in Personal Change” by Stephen R. Covey (“Begin with the End in Mind”)
- “Please find a place to read these next few pages where you can be alone and uninterrupted. Clear your mind of everything except what you will read and what I will invite you to do. Don’t worry about your schedule, your business, your family, or your friends. Just focus with me and really open your mind.
“In your mind’s eye, see yourself going to the funeral of a loved one. Picture yourself driving to the funeral parlor or chapel, parking the car, and getting out. As you walk inside the building, you notice the flowers, the soft organ music. You see the faces of friends and family you pass along the way. You feel the shared sorrow of losing, the joy of having known, that radiates from the hearts of the people there.
“As you walk down to the front of the room and look inside the casket, you suddenly come face to face with yourself. This is your funeral, three years from today. All these people have come to honor you, to express feelings of love and appreciation for your life.
“As you take a seat and wait for the services to begin, you look at the program in your hand. There are to be four speakers. The first is from your family, immediate and also extended—children, brothers, sisters, nephews, nieces, aunts, uncles, cousins, and grandparents who have come from all over the country to attend. The second speaker is one of your friends, someone who can give a sense of what you were as a person. The third speaker is from your work or profession. And the fourth is from your church or some community organization where you’ve been involved in service.
“Now think deeply. What would you like each of these speakers to say about you and your life? What kind of husband, wife, father, or mother would you like their words to reflect? What kind of son or daughter or cousin? What kind of friend? What kind of working associate?
“What character would you like them to have seen in you? What contributions, what achievements would you want them to remember? Look carefully at the people around you. What difference would you like to have made in their lives?
“Before you read further, take a few minutes to jot down your impressions. It will greatly increase your personal understanding of Habit 2…
“Although Habit 2 applies to many different circumstances and levels of life, the most fundamental application of ‘begin with the end in mind’ is to begin today with the image, picture, or paradigm of the end of your life as your frame of reference or the criterion by which everything else is examined. Each part of your life—today’s behavior, tomorrow’s behavior, next week’s behavior, next month’s behavior—can be examined in the context of the whole, of what really matters most to you. By keeping that end clearly in mind, you can make certain that whatever you do on any particular day does not violate the criteria you have defined as supremely important, and that each day of your life contributes in a meaningful way to the vision you have of your life as a whole.
“To begin with the end in mind means to start with a clear understanding of your destination. It means to know where you’re going so that you better understand where you are now and so that the steps you take are always in the right direction.
“It’s incredibly easy to get caught up in an activity trap, in the busyness of life, to work harder and harder at climbing the ladder of success only to discover it’s leaning against the wrong wall. It is possible to be busy—very busy—without being very effective.”
- “Please find a place to read these next few pages where you can be alone and uninterrupted. Clear your mind of everything except what you will read and what I will invite you to do. Don’t worry about your schedule, your business, your family, or your friends. Just focus with me and really open your mind.
Report on Prior Week’s Action Item
Last week, I committed to journaling for 20 minutes on the following journal prompt:
- ‘How can I take the long view in each of the meaningful relationships (i.e., spouse, children, extended family, close friends) in my life?’
This was an informative exercise. Perhaps the most important thing I learned was that I noted an omission as I began journaling… I had not included Heavenly Father, Jesus Christ, or the Holy Ghost in my list of “meaningful relationships.” Thus, I spent the first 10 minutes identifying ways I could take the long view in my relationship with each of Them. In particular, my prayers need to become more like a conversation than a shopping list.
This Week’s Action Item
“That which is measured improves. That which is measured and reported improves exponentially.”
Karl Pearson, an early 20th-century British mathematician
“Those who measure their progress improve. Those who measure and report their progress improve exponentially.”
Dan Sullivan, founder and president of The Strategic Coach Inc.
“Do something, do anything! But to start, just do ONE thing.”
Mitch Peterson
I will take 10 minutes to contemplate Stephen R. Covey’s “begin with the end in mind” exercise and jot down my thoughts in my journal.
Let Me Know
How will you take action on this General Conference address? Let me know on social media or email me.
REMEMBER THIS
If you remember nothing else from this podcast episode, remember this:
- Elder Godoy has invited us to begin with the end in mind.
Tags
Activation | Covenants | Family
Additional Content
Previous Podcast Episode (“Seeing God’s Family through the Overview Lens” by Sister Tamara W. Runia)
Next Podcast Episode (“More Than a Hero” by Bishop W. Christopher Waddell)